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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28025442">Child, Kin, Progeny (Son, Star, Successor)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiamondCrystalInk/pseuds/DiamondCrystalInk'>DiamondCrystalInk</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Antarctic Empire, Backstory, Childhood, Deviates From Canon, Fluff, Gen, Philza is a dad... but is he a good one, Post-Manberg-Pogtopia War on Dream Team SMP (Video Blogging RPF), and some, is mentioned, only a little at the end</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 22:35:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,142</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28025442</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiamondCrystalInk/pseuds/DiamondCrystalInk</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Philza is gifted with three sons. His story with each one is slightly different. </p><p>-</p><p>An exploration and reflection into Philza's relationship with each of his sons.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dave | Technoblade &amp; Phil Watson, Dave | Technoblade &amp; Wilbur Soot, Dave | Technoblade &amp; Wilbur Soot &amp; TommyInnit &amp; Phil Watson, SBI family dynamics - Relationship, TommyInnit &amp; Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot &amp; Phil Watson, Wilbur Soot &amp; TommyInnit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>407</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Tommy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tommy always looked the most like him. His little Tommy with his gold-spun hair and bright blue eyes. Always the most similar on the surface, that was until he grew and things started to clear; Tommy would be the one who followed his heart, even to a fault. </p><p>As a child, Tommy would always be stuck with Philza the most, while his brothers sparred he was too small to join. With the four of them being the only inhabitants of this new world, a playmate simply didn’t exist. All he could do was put Tommy on his lap and try to console him, “I promise I’ll spar with you when you're older.”</p><p>“But I want to be older now!”</p><p>“But what if I want you to stay small forever?” Philza teases as his son squirms.</p><p>“Promise I can join?”</p><p>“Promise.” </p><p> </p><p>Tommy would be stubborn, from not wanting to eat his veggies to sleeping late. This fact would become ever clearer when Schlatt gave him his first suit.</p><p>“Since I’m a part of Business Bay now I guess I can’t keep calling you dad, it'd be unprofessional you know. It's ok if I call you Philza, right?”</p><p>In hindsight, Tommy was probably just following his brothers, but it hurt nonetheless. Tommy was his youngest and now even his little one wanted to stop calling him dad.</p><p>When Tommy started to dig his heels in Business Bay, Philza had already fully accepted that he would have to give his children space. Even while waging insensible wars he’d never win, it would be a lie to say Philza didn’t find it endearing. It was like all his sons’ first steps, directionless in the beginning before finding their stride. </p><p>Mostly Tommy’s wars were quite similar to play fighting, a child should be challenged for their development after all. It would be a lie though to say he sometimes should’ve probably stopped Techno from bullying his little brother too much. </p><p>If Tommy always seemed to want to impress Techno with a new fight strategy or item, his little one seems to have an affinity with Wilbur, for when they go to trial he shouts, “Kill them!” in support of Wilbur's trial against the Antarctic Empire. Sometimes Philza wonders if he was joking, if Tommy’s heart is too malleable by those around him. </p><p> </p><p>The youngest wants to belong, he wants to find his own place away from eyes over his head. Philza, Schlatt, Techno, Wilbur, they’re all the same power, all the same whispering in his ear. </p><p>Leaving Tommy with Wilbur should have never brought on such chaos. A van should have not started a cataclysmic war. Dreams, Philza knows, can be dangerous. </p><p>He hears the news far away from that world, it devastated him nonetheless. L’Manberg sounded lovely, his sons sounded so happy telling him about it in their letters, but they would have never told him this. Instead, he receives the declaration of war from Dream himself.</p><p>
  <em> Respected Philza, </em>
</p><p>
  <em> It has come to my attention that there are certain matters that have not come to your attention but very much should. I assume you know about L’Manberg, and I write to inform you that their presence will no longer be tolerated. As you read this I have already declared war on your sons. I strongly urge you to not interfere.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Dream </em>
</p><p>Then it’s his own son, telling him to not interfere in a new completely different war. So he doesn’t until it’s too late.</p><p>
  <em> I write to you in the darkness of our new home, Schlatt had taken the presidency of L’Manberg and made us runaways in our nation. You may not hear from us for some time. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Tommy </em>
</p><p>Reading it makes Phil wonder how much of it was Tommy’s words and how much was Wilbur. </p><p>He always arrives <em>too</em> late. He can hear the announcements in the distance, it makes his insides twist. </p><p> </p><p>Tommy is young. He’s a child president who then assigns another child president in his place. Philza wants to laugh, this, this isn’t what a child needs. A country is not a gift, it’s a burden. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm familiar with Tommy's character the least so this is by far the shortest chapter.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Wilbur</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Wilbur is only a middle child in the terms of technicality and stereotype. If anything, Philza assumes he and Techno are only a few months apart, Wilbur only considered younger due to coming after Philza got Techno. It's a few weeks after what Philza considers Techno’s 4th birthday when Wilbur appears.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well then Wilbur, how old are you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I turn 5 when the leaves start to turn red!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Philza ruffles his hair, “Then I’ll make sure to make a nice cake we can all share.” Even though this makes Wilbur older he keeps the arrangement the same, Wilbur will be his second born.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wilbur is the artistic one out of his three. At parties, he’ll always sing Happy Birthday the loudest, and at least twice a week he’ll come to Philza with a new drawing, he hangs them all. Philza gets Wilbur his first guitar at 8, he hears his first song at 10. He knows, his boy will write a symphony one day. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A natural leader, Wilbur finds an audience in any crowd even when he doesn’t try. Newfoundland saw Wilbur as a symbol of unity, his great bridge connecting two continents. It would be his pride and joy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Philza remembers when Wilbur had stopped calling him Dad, “I’m gonna make a new nation, Newfoundland, what do you think, Philza?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had said it so easily, but they both know this is basically him dipping his toes in the water. They would be equals now, his son the founder of his own nation. “It’s great, Will.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where are you gonna settle down, Phil?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not that sure yet, been thinking about somewhere with snow though,” he replies.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He would have never expected his new snowy home would bring him this. When misunderstandings took hold of the world, Wilbur would solidify his independence from their small family, it would be his rite of passage. Here in this small part of scenic wilderness, watched on by the world, is his beloved son. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His second, who stands on a podium and proclaims his own father and brother guilty of war crimes. The boy who is a musician by the very blood in his veins, now transformed into judge and executioner. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In another world, Philza would have reached out to his son, held him, and asked if this really was what he wanted, but not in this one. In this one, he doesn’t call him son, just like how Wilbur doesn’t call him dad anymore. Now Philza can only do one thing, stand with the Antarctic Empire.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When the day finally comes to a close and they are allowed to leave, Philza gets in his plane. He allows himself one last look at Wilbur, knowing things will never be the same. “See you around, Will.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Safe flying, Phil.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Other wars would be fought, and the world would change, really, Philza wished for things to stay the same. He didn’t know he would have to witness his son's descent into madness. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As all things are in the beginning, the letters started sweet and excited.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Phil!</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Hi! I would get into pleasantries but I just have so much to tell you! That little project me and Tommy were doing? Yeah, it’s not so little anymore!</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m really overdoing the exclamation marks, aren’t I? But wow I haven’t felt this excited about something in so long. We’re making a new home for ourselves; it’s called L’Manberg, it's absolutely stunning.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m so excited for when you finally get to visit, we’ll be sure to get everything ready for you.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Wilbur</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>President of L’Manberg</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>More letters with a similar tone would arrive at Phil's doorstep until the time between each one gets noticeably longer and longer. At some point, they stop altogether. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Phil finally gets to their new world it’s too late, his Wilbur seems to be buried too deep to dig out. The boy has one hand on the destruction of his nation and the other around his father’s heart.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There is a delay between when Wilbur pushes the button and the first explosions, for a moment Phil hopes that the button was broken somehow. The wave of heat from the explosions prove him wrong. When Wilbur finally does it, Phil reflects on his own shock with surprise. What was he expecting? That Wilbur would stop? That all this could be avoided with a hug and a few words?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If I can’t have this no one can, Phil!” Wilbur is in hysterics, what was once his greatest symphony now a crater in the ground. “Phil, kill me,” Wilbur repeats like a sick mantra. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re my son, no matter what you do, I-“</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look at all this,” Wilbur waves at the debris that was once a paradise. “Stab me! Phil! Do it!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And Phil does. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Phil kills his own son. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Wilbur makes the best music to listen to at 1 am when writing</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Technoblade</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>had to up the rating slightly because a description of techno does require some blood mentions</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Techno was finally big enough to hold a sword, Philza could see the future in his eyes. In a way, Technoblade is the most predictable of his children. It was clear his place would be with power. </p><p>His little boy with bright pink hair would find his affinity in blood, his eyes gleaming when the diamond sword finally fell into his hands, it reminded Phil of his own youth.</p><p>“Dad, do you think I could dual wield swords?”</p><p>“Maybe when you’re older and have a stronger non-dominant arm, but at that point, I think you’ll find dual-wielding might not be as cool as it looks,” Philza tells his son.</p><p>“Really? Duel wielding would be so cool though!” </p><p>“Wait until you get to use fireworks, son.” Philza fixes some of Techno’s stray hairs. The sun is beautifully warm for their small family.</p><p> </p><p>The first time techno came into his arms Philza had thought the toddler holding the envelope had been a figment of his imagination, an apparition of the summer heat getting to his head. Pink hair with a fully white outfit, the envelope beautifully sick in its own cursives, and gold embossing. </p><p>
  <em> The following is a reward for good behavior, he is your company for the time being. Upon further observation rewards or penalties may be granted. </em>
</p><p>A gift? Some company? Huh.</p><p>He picks up the small pink-haired child, “Do you have a name?”</p><p>As expected from his size it mostly comes out garbled, with what Philza can make out he settles on, “Technoblade?” When the toddler nods, Philza is already slightly proud of his first fatherly task. </p><p>“How old are you?”</p><p>Techno holds up two then three fingers, looking unsure. Philza smooths out some of his hair, a stomach grumbles between them. “It probably wasn’t an easy trip getting here, let’s get something to eat.” He hadn’t expected his forced isolation would see him become a father, but a hungry child is a hungry child, and Philza will be damned if he lets a child go hungry.</p><p> </p><p>There’s always a moment where each of his sons stop calling him dad, but only with Techno did it feel natural. As the letter promises, Techno is not under the same restrictions he is:</p><p>
  <em> Technoblade has been invited to a competition, he is expected to be ready to leave on Monday. </em>
</p><p>Techno wins, Philza is proud. Then he <em>keeps </em>winning, and with enough good faith, he’s allowed to pick his own partner for the competition.</p><p>“Dad! You won’t believe it, I’m allowed to finally pick my own partner, that means we can go together!”</p><p>Philza tilts his head, “I would feel like an old man compared to the ones you’ll be going against, sure you don't want a younger partner?”</p><p>“You taught me everything I know, we’ll win. I’m sure.” Techno is adamant but inside Phil can see the child-like excitement.</p><p>“Ok, but don’t be mad if we lose alright?”</p><p>“Yeah sure, Phil, <em> lose,” </em>Techno scoffs, to his son, the two of them against the world would be an easy fight.</p><p>At night Techno comes up to him when the other two are fast asleep, “Hey, was it ok that I called you Phil,” he sounds doubtful, “It's just that I’m not even sure if family teams are allowed and-”</p><p>“Techno, don’t worry kid. I’ll always be your dad, you calling me something different won't change that,” he motions for Techno to sit beside him and reaches for a hairbrush. “Plus it makes me kinda young again,” Philza starts to brush Techno's hair as he consoles his son, it's like breathing to him.</p><p>It would be a landslide victory, Philza only really remembers how happy Techno looked sharing the podium with him.</p><p> </p><p>(“How do you want to be remembered one day?” Techno asks him one night.</p><p>“Before you three came into my life I would have wanted to be forgotten, but now? I would like to be remembered as someone loved.”)</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Dad, wanna join me in the Antarctic?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Dad, we could take over the world today.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Hey Dad, do you want to join this war I just started?” </em>
</p><p>Techno really only calls him Dad when it's just the two of them, Philza doesn’t mind. If Tommy looked the most like him, Techno reminded him the most of his youth. </p><p>When the days of the Antarctic Empire finally had to come to an end, it felt like the passing of an era. Their family would separate for a while, Philza would continue his sentence in hopes of future rewards. </p><p> </p><p>(“How do you want to be remembered one day?” Philza asks his son as they stand drenched in blood that isn’t theirs, facing towards the sun of a new day.</p><p>Techno looks at him, then turns his gaze back towards the red skies, “As the victorious.”</p><p>Philza smiles at his son's answer.)</p><p> </p><p>The Technoblade that was once Emperor is now an anarchist, Philza knows his son likes to change things up a bit quite often. </p><p>The Withers are deployed and his second son’s body lies at his feet, it's all quite hectic. In a flurry he wrongfully accuses his son of being a traitor, he apologizes profusely afterward. But something inside is pestering him, <em> are you really going to lose him too? </em></p><p>No.</p><p>
  <em> “We should go fishing together.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I found some great villagers to trade with, we can make it a trip!” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Techno, where are you planning on going?” </em>
</p><p>When Techno finally leads him to the snowy biome he calls home, he feels a surprising amount of warmth. It reminds him of old, simpler times. </p><p>Their bond forged and strengthened in blood, wars would be fought and won by him and Techno. The student becomes the teacher, a son destined to surpass his father; The Angel of Death raised The Blood God.<br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>the techno stannie really did jump out in this one huh</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Philza</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>There is a reason Philza had to live on his own for so long, that he was exiled to the dangerous world he would have to call home.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was feared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On Twelve it is guilty till proven innocent. He squints his eyes at the council, they never look down. Philza isn’t allowed to say a word through the whole trial. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway, he knows he’s guilty.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Angel of Death, you are sentenced to life. Suffer and know penance. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Philza can’t die of old age, but he’s too prideful to die a self-made death. On his lone world he survives, and he makes it his home, his dominion. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wilbur haunts him. The issue is not the haunting itself, rather it's what he says. Wilbur isn’t mad when he speaks to Philza, it's disconcerting. “I wrote a new song, do you want to hear it, Dad?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course.” Wilbur talks to him like nothing happened. It's a stab to the heart, the fact that he calls him Dad again is the blade being twisted between his ribs. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wilbur, do you want other people to be able to hear you too?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It would be fun to talk with Techno and Tommy again but I’m happy with you Dad,” Wilbur smiles. Philza promises he’s gonna bring his son back one day, human resurrection never seemed so possible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Philza has survived in the void, in worlds where he's the only one alive. He built a paradise from the seafloor, and brought light to the darkest of nights. He’s a human who learned to fly, and the lonely soul who drained the ocean.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One day he knows, his sons will come back to him, alive, healthy, happy. Till then.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come with me Tommy, we can build a little cottage far away from Manberg and all of this, we could be a family again!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>(There’s a voice in Tommy’s head, it sounds like a friend. “He’s killed your brother, then congratulated his other son on a massacre. He clearly has a favorite doesn’t he?)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No! I’m gonna stay right where I belong!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Philza's mind is racing, he says something he doesn’t really mean, “If you don’t come with me right now, I’ll never ask again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>(”Don’t be fooled, Tommy, he didn’t really love you. Don’t worry, I’ll be with you.”)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like losing you will make a big difference.” Tommy scoffs, his eyes teary.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Philza was always aware that his approach to fatherhood was more distant than others, he thought it was a strategy that worked well enough; but now he wishes he had done it differently, where he coddled and kept his children in their little world away from all this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Techno puts a hand on his shoulder, “Dad, we should go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’s just so tired of all this politics. “Yeah, yeah, let’s go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He walks away with Techno, his first son and now his only. Philza makes a promise inside to himself, that he’ll come back, just as the first snowfalls.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Techno is Philza at his prime, he’s the violence Philza had to tamp down personified. Technoblade is the son who left and came back. Discovered himself as both hero and villain, and still found his way home. The son who remains, who stays standing beside him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wilbur is the son who Philza might have understood the least. A musician born to a family of warmongers. Philza had tried to push him towards the stage, yet, to Wilbur it was just farther from his father’s side. Mistakes are born when Wilbur thinks the only way to his father’s heart is by sword and blood. The son who died, who bore the consequences of his father’s failure.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tommy is Phil before it all, when Phil still had a way out; Tommy is the son stuck at a crossroads. It's no wonder the boy is so guided towards conflict, the victories make him smile the brightest. Philza’s guidance will have the greatest impact on Tommy now, and it scares him. Philza just hopes Tommy listen to his heart. The son who lost, who still has a choice to make.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>its doneeee<br/>I love the lore of the SMP with I'm too shy to have a fan account on Twitter so here I am writing fic instead.<br/>I made this whole thing while procrastinating on my tok essay so please comment because I need endorphins<br/>(any lines that you like?)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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